Claiming Human Rights - in Guinea

The Republic of Guinea is a member of the United Nations and the African Union. It has ratified many UN Human Rights Conventions (compare list on the right) and thus has made binding international commitments to adhere to the standards laid down in these universal human rights documents.

Guinea is a French-speaking country in West Africa. The middle-sized country with an area of 245,857 square km has a border on the Atlantic Ocean in the west. On a global scale, its population density is low. The capital of the country, which became independent on 2 October 1958 from France, is Conakry. Guinea is a member of the regional economic communities ECOWAS and CEN-SAD.

With a Human Development Index of 0.44 Guinea ranks 170th of 182 countries ranked in the UNDP Human Development Report of 2009. Life expectancy of the 9.8 million inhabitants at birth is 58 years, population growth is 2.2 percent per year. GNI is 390 US-$ per capita. External debt is 72.7 percent of gross national income. Primary school enrolment is 73.6 percent.

In as far as Guinea has ratified the Optional Protocols for UN Human Rights Conventions or has accepted the Competence of the corresponding UN Treaty Bodies (compare list on the right), the inhabitants of Guinea and their representatives are able to invoke their human rights through these bodies.

All inhabitants of Guinea may turn to the UN Human Rights Committee through procedure 1503, to the Special Rapporteurs for violations of specific human rights or to ECOSOC for women's rights violations.

Since Guinea is a member state of UNESCO, its citizens may use the UNESCO procedure for human rights violations in UNESCO's fields of mandate.

Employers' or workers' and certain other organizations (not individuals) of Guinea may file complaints through the ILO procedure in the cases of those conventions which Guinea has ratified.